The United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, stated this Sunday that Washington and Israel are aligned on the next steps in the implementation of the second phase of the 20-point plan for Gaza, after holding a meeting yesterday with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The United States and Israel maintain a strong and lasting relationship, based on close coordination and shared priorities. The conversation was constructive and positive, and both sides agreed on the next steps and the importance of continuing cooperation on all critical issues for the region,” Witkoff expressed in a message posted on his X account.
According to Witkoff, the meeting, which was attended by a US delegation also including Jared Kushner, Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum, addressed the progress and planning of the second phase of the “peace plan” for Gaza proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Witkoff and Kushner landed in Tel Aviv on the afternoon of this Saturday, and their agenda in Israel is still unknown.
This Saturday also saw a series of meetings between the head of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, and the head of the Israeli General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, according to a statement released today by the Israeli Army.
Netanyahu accepted this Wednesday the offer from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to join the Peace Board established by the magnate that will oversee the development of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, whose second phase officially began last Wednesday.
Witkoff, negotiator of the plan, explained that this phase foresees the creation of a transitional technocratic Palestinian government, called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, as well as the demilitarization and total reconstruction of the enclave, in addition to the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel. President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida. (Image credit: Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Gpo via ZUMA Press Wire)
Jared Kushner addressed this Thursday in Davos (Switzerland) the issue of the demilitarization of Gaza, the one that raises the most blisters in Israel, and stated that the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas must first hand over heavy weapons and then gradually facilitate the light ones, without giving specific deadlines.
The Donald Trump administration also presented this Thursday its reconstruction plan for the so-called “new Gaza”, conceived as an ambitious urban project full of skyscrapers in a territory of two million inhabitants devastated by more than two years of Israeli military offensive.
